The bill that will allow more vintners to pour their wines at charitable fundraising events has cleared another hurdle.

The state Senate approved by a 36-0 vote AB 323, which permits holders of Type 17 and Type 20 licenses to pour their wines at charitable events, and the measure now goes back to the Assembly for concurrence on amendments to the bill that were taken in the Senate.

 One of those amendments was by the bill’s author, Assemblymember Noreen Evans, D-Santa Rosa, who added a provision that the bill is to take effect immediately upon the governor’s signature. Otherwise, it would not become effective until Jan. 1, 2008.

In announcing the Senate’s passage of the bill, Evans mentioned the citations give to Napa Valley vintners last May and said that “the current law needs to be changed.” At present, holders of Type 17/20 licenses cannot pour at charitable events, and only holders of Type 02 licenses are allowed to do so.

 “Government shouldn’t be punishing anyone for donating to charity. But these vintners had their licenses temporarily suspended. My legislation stops this silliness,” she said.

Napa Valley artist Jessel Miller has designed the labels for a new wine developed exclusively for the women’s market by a woman vintner in Temecula.

Terri Pebley, who owns Keyways Vineyard & Winery, has released the first wine of her new line, Femina Vita (meaning “Life of a Woman”), a syrah rosé.

She’s having a release party called Femina Vita Festival on July 21-22, and will also unveil a line of merchandise featuring Miller’s artwork including giclees of the originals, hard-painted glasses, decorative coasters, t-shirts, jackets and hats.

Miller will be on hand at the event to sign pieces and demonstrate her painting techniques.

The 2007 California Wine Tasting Championship takes place July 28-29 at Greenwood Ridge Winery in Philo in Mendocino County.

Tasters compete in three classifications — professional, amateur and novice — and those who score in the top 50 percent in each category move on to the finals. The top three winners in the professional and amateur categories then hold a taste-off for the grand championship.

Participants taste eight wines in the first round and receive points if they identify each by variety. In the final round, extra points are given if the vintage, region and producer are identified.

Last year about 150 people competed, and Tom Rees, assistant winemaker at St. Supery Vineyards, won the grand championship.

Among other past winners is Copia’s Senior Director of Wine & Food Peter Marks, MW, who was the grand champion in 1992.

Cape Town, South Africa has been selected to host the 2008 general meeting of the Great Wine Capitals Global Network of the World. The organization was formed to encourage economic, academic and cultural development through exchanges and joint projects in wine tourism, according to a press release.

In addition to Cape Town, participating cities are Napa Valley; Melbourne, Australia; Bordeaux, France; Porto, Portugal; Bilboa-Rioja, Spain; Florence, Italy; and Mendoza, Argentina.

Spring Mountain Vineyard received the Best of Napa Valley Tourism Award for 2005-06 from the Great Wine Capitals group.

Groth Vineyards has completed construction of its new reserve cellar, which will be used for barrel storage of its reserve cabernet sauvignons. The 2005 vintage will be the first since 1999, when the vineyard that produced the reserve cabs was pulled and re-planted.

Kirkland Ranch Winery announced it has completed a financial restructuring that it hopes will lead to approval of its reorganization plan by the bankruptcy court. The plan calls for restructuring its debt, repayment of its creditors and a new working capital facility headed by Madison Capital Management LLC.

Kirkland  Ranch filed for bankruptcy last year after 360 Global pulled out of a joint venture. 360 Global, owner of Viansa Winery in Sonoma County, itself has filed for bankruptcy. A court earlier had awarded Larry Kirkland full ownership of Kirkland Ranch.

The New York legislature has passed a bill that created and funded a new Finger Lakes Wine Center in Ithica. The center will be a first stop for visitors where they can learn more about the wine-producing region and buy wine.

Ithica is the home of Cornell University, which has one of the top viticultural programs in the eastern U.S.

The UNESCO World Heritage Committee has named the Lavaux vineyards a registered World Heritage site.

Lavaux is in the heart of the Lake Geneva Region, or canton of Vaud, on the shore of Lac Léman (Lake Geneva), in western Switzerland. It is one of Vaud's five centuries-old vineyard regions. While not the largest producer, Lavaux is known for its light, crisp white wines as much as for the picturesque landscape of steeply terraced vineyards dotted with medieval villages and panoramic views across the lake to the French Alps.

Lavaux produces world renowned wines such as Epesses, Dézaley, Lutry, Villette, Chardonne and Montreux-Veve. Chasselas is the predominant grape. The terraced growing conditions in Lavaux are distinguished by the “three suns;” the light refracted and warmed by the sky; the lake; and reflected light off the cpudding stone walls. 

On Sept. 22, the Association for the Registration of Lavaux, the local committee that worked on the bid for the UNESCO registration, will celebrate the designation with a special Lavaux Festival, a elebration of the region's traditional Vaudoise wine and food organized around the theme of “5 Senses, 5 Appellations.” The festival will take place in villages throughout the Lavaux region.  For more information, go to www.lavauxenfete.ch.

Submit items for Toast of the Valley to On Wine editor Sasha Paulsen, spaulsen@napanews.com